Myanmar sanctions no use at this time: US diplomat

Hanoi (VNA) – US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he would not yet push for sanctions against
Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis, but called for an investigation into the
instability in the Southeast Asian nation.

Speaking at a joint press briefing with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi
on November 15, he said economic sanctions are not something he would think of currently,
adding that the US wants to see Myanmar succeed.

But he said Washington was deeply concerned by reports of violence in the
country’s northern Rakhine state, resulting in 600,000 Rohingya people, mainly
women and children, fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh.

The US diplomat also announced that the US is committing a further
47 million USD in humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, raising
the total to 87 million USD since August 2017.

Violence flared up in Rakhine state after gunmen attacked 24 police posts
and broke into a military outpost in Rakhine on August 25, with the country’s
army responding with brutal clearing operations that have led to accusations of
crimes against humanity.-VNA